Automobile window-curtain controller



March 31,1931. B, AMES 7 1,798,577

AUTOMOBILE WINDOW CURTAIN CONTROLLER l Filed May 29, 1929 L/fy. a'

`Patented Mar. 31, 1931 UTLER AMES, OF LOWELLvMASSACHUSETTS AUTOMOBILEWINDOW-CURTAIN CONTROLLER Application filed May 29,

This invention relates to electric motors for raising and loweringroller curtains such as the window shades of automobiles, or the like,and the principal obj ect of the invention .5 is to provide a compactand efficient reversible motor so constructed that it may readily besubstituted in place of the roller mountings at one end of the curtainand may be operated by a remote switch to rotate the roller in eitherdirection as desired.

Another object is to furnish reduction gearing within the motor casingand means associated therewith, arranged to reduce the speed of rotationof the roller and automatically to stop said rotation when the'curtainhas reached its extreme upper or lower positions. Further objects residein the improved features of structure and arrangement of the motorelements hereinafter described and pointed out in the appended claims,whereby a motor constructed in accordance with this invention may beeconomically manufactured, Vreadily ,assembled and mounted within acylindrical casing of small size and neat appearance.

A recommended embodiment of the invention is shown for the purpose ofillustration in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of an automobile window curtain equipped with theimproved motor;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of the motor and curtain roller; A

Fig. 3 is an end view of the motorshowing the rollerfconnecting hubthereof; l

Fig. 4 is a central longitudinal section of the motor with parts shownin elevation;

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5 5 of Fim 4; E

Fig. 6 is a sectional view illustrating the reduction gearing;

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 7 -7 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. v8 is schematic wiring diagramillustrating the motor switch andmotor circuits.

The roller curtain 11 to which the improved motor is operativelyconnected may be mounted above the window '12 of an automobile, orarranged at any suitable location. In the usual installation the rolleris supported by 1929. Serial No. 366,924.

brackets -13A having recesses receiving axial projections at theopposite ends of the roller, and one of said projections istongue-shaped and is held against angular movement by the complementalrecess of itslsupporting bracket. The motor is adapted to be substitutedfor the last-named bracket and to engage the said projecting tongue tosupport the roller end and revolve the roller lbyl rotating said tongue.Accordingly, the motor casing 14 60 preferably has a base 15 arranged tobe mounted in place of said bracket and having openings'to receive thescrews 16 which formerly secured the bracket. .Hence it is not necessaryto drill new screw holes or to provide special attachments forconnecting the' motor to the curtain roller. l The casing 14 ispreferably cylindrical and has a closed end centrally apertured toprovide a bearing for the hub 17 of an interior 70' rotatable plate 18.Said hub has a slot or, recess 19 shaped to receive the projectingtongue of the roller, as aforesaid. The plate 18 constitutes one end ofthe' motor assembly which is housed within the casing, a disc 20 75being provided to support the opposite, outer end of the assembly and toserve as a closure for the open end ofthe casing. The disc 20 may beremovably secured by screws 21, and may have a central aperture to admita wiring cable V22 through a collar 23.

The magnetic core 24 and wiring 25 of the motor field are mountedadjacent the said open end of the casing within a cage comprisingoppositely directed cu s or spacer members 26 and 27, the cup 26. libingsecured to the cover 20 by the langedcollar 23. The' two spacers areattached to dia-metrically op. posite, curved conducting plates 28 and29, as 9o by screws 30, said plates being mounted on opposite ends ofthe core 24 extending toward the inner end of the casing above and belowthe motor armature 31. to carry the field flux thereto. The armature maybe of 95 any usual construction, but is preferably 'designed for directcurrent. An axial opening fin cup or spacer 27 forms a bearing for oneend 32' of the armature shaft; and said cup also has openings for thewires leading 9 to the brushes 33 Vand 34 of theladjacent com-v mutator35. y

Another spacer 36 is fastened between th l inner ends of the plates 28and 29, as by vscrews 37 ,and a bearing 38 for the opposite end 39 ofthe armature shaft is` aiiixed to said cup by rivets 40. The bearing 38also y constitutes a journal for the sleeve 41 of a rotatable, cuppeddisc 42. An internal gear 43 is fastened between .disc 42 and the en-dplate 18 by screws 44, and thesemembers furnish a revolving gear box forthe motor rel duction gearing.

The gear train may be arranged in the -following-manner: the small spur45 at the end 39 of the armature shaft meshes with a larger spurf46`of;agear journaled in the faceof the 'bearing38 and which has a smallerspur 47 meshing wlth a larger gear 48 also j ournaled in the teeth ofgear 48 mesh with the internal teeth of rin 43. Hence the ring 43Landthe hub 17 -o plate 18 lto which. the ring is attached are revolved at aspeed substantially less than that of the armature shaft, and-thefrcller ll-which is operatively connectedto said hub is drivenat areasonably slow speed While the motor isv in operation.l

" In order to stop the efectlvepoperation of*l the motor when thecurtainhas arrived at its A lowermost or uppermost position, mutuallyengaging abutments are preferably provided in association with thegearing to stop rotation of the gears after a predetermined numv ber ofrevolutions of the end or driving plate 18. Accordingly an inwardlyprojecting pin 51 is fixed in the plate 18 and a complemental pin 52rojects from the face of gear 48 in the path o movement of the pin 51.The pins ma be so arranged that the plate 18 will ma e a definite numberof revolutions, for example four,before the pins meet each other Y tostopmovement of the gear train. At such Fig. 8, one pair of wires mayconnect the' 'terminals of the field winding 25 with the terminals 53and 54 of the switch arm 55. through the battery 56; and the other pairmay connect the commutator brushes 33 and 34 with the' double poles 57,57 and 58, 58-,

. respectively of the'switch. Hence the -motor may be revolved in eitherdirection according to the direction of throw of the switch arm 55. .Forexampleif the'arm is closed lhearing 38. as at 49. The

, placing the assembl upon switch terminals 57 and 58, the current will-low as shown by the full-line arrows, causing the motor to revolve inone direction; whereas if the terminals 57 and 58 are closed, the flowwill -be in the direction of the broken arrows, effecting an oppositerotation ofthe motor shaft. Obviously, the same result may be attained`by reversing the field of the motor, rather than thearmature asinthediagram. l

When the motor is used to'operate the curtain at a rear window Vof anautomobile, the switch will ordinarily be mounted on the instrumentpanel in front of the drivers seat, and. `the switch is preferably heldin normal open position as indicated by the springs 59 of Fig. 8. Inpractice, a simple and attractive formfof toggleY switch of known typemay be employed, and the switch may be so arranged that upward tiltingof the lever will raise the curtain, while a downward movement thereofwill lower the curtain. The operator `:may hold the lever .in thedesired position against the spring which tends to'open the switch,until the click of the motor stop-pins warns him that the motor hasstopped its effective operation; or the switch may be released at anytime when the curtain is at the desired posi- 5 y l l 9 Theelectricaloperation ofthe motor is well tion.

understood and its mechanical operation will be apparent from theforegoing description. l

It is also evident that the component parts of .the motor may be quicklyand easily assembled in the form of a compact unit before within thecasing. After insertion into t e small and attractive casing, the motorassembly is supported by the bearing of hub 19 at'one end and by thecollar 23 of the removable cover 2O atthe' .opposite end, without otherinterior supports offastening members. The encased motor occupies verylittle spacewhen connected to the curtainA rod in the lmanner abovedcscribed, and operates quietly and efficiently to'perform its intendedfunction. d

Although the motor herein described is adapted especially for use'withroller curtains as above set forth, it will be obvious that a motorembodying the features of this invention may be satisfactorily employedfor other purposes, and that structural details may be varied for 'theintended uses without and radially disposed spacers connecting saidplates and in engagement with opposite sides of the core for spacing thelatter longitudinally, o ne of said spacers providing a .bearing forsaid shaft.

2. An electric motor comprising a cylindnical casing, fixed andremovable end walls for the casing, a'motor assembly disposed within thecasing and supported by the opposite end walls of the. casing, thesupporting means at one end consisting of a drivin hub projectingthrough and journaled 1n said fixed end wall, and reduction gearingoperatively connecting said hub with the motor. i.

8. An electric motor comprising a casing, a motor assembly disposedwithin the casing, means for supporting the motor assem bly forrotary'motion relative to the casing, a driving hub extending throughone end ofthe casing, gearing 'Within the casing opof vsaid motoreratively connecting said hub and said motor assembly, and means forlocking -said gearing for automatically .stoppingthe operation of themotor after a predetermined number-of revolutions of the hub. j

4. An electricl motor comprising a 'cylindrical casing, an armaturehaving a-rotatable shaft, a field magnet spaced axially from thearmature and having a radial core, a pair of curved conductor platesmounted on opposite ends of said core and extendinglongitudinally overoppositesidcs of the armature, radially disposed spacers connecting saidplates and providingl bearings for the armature shaft, one of saidspacers being located between the armature and its field, and a spacingmember arranged at the opposite end of the field and secured7 to saidplates, saidyone of said spacers and said spacing member being inengagement with opposite sides ofthe core to position the latterlongitudinally, all v parts being contained within the/ceasing.

5. An electric motor compris/ing a cylindrical casing, an armaturehaving a rotatable shaft, a field magnet spaced axially from the.armature and having a radial core`, a pair of curved conductor plateslmounted on opposite ends of said core and extending longitudinally overopposite sides of thearmature, radially disposed spacers connecting saidplates and providing bearings for the armature shaft, one of saidspacers being located between the armature, and its field, and a spacingmember arranged at the opposite end of the field and secured to saidplates, all of said motor parts being contained within the casing andthe last named spacing member being secured to one end thereof, the

opposite end of the casing having an axial.

aperture, 'and a hub journaled in saidv aperture and operativelyconnected to the armature shaft, the motor elements being supportedwithin the casing at-the opposite ends thereof by said hub and saidspacing member respectively.

6. An electric` motor comprising a cylindrical casing, an armaturehaving a rotatable shaft, a field magnet spaced axially from thearmature and having a radial core, a pair of curved conductor platesmounted von opposite ends of said core and extending longitudinallyvover opposite sides o the armature, radially disposed spacerslconnecting said plates and providing bearings for the armatureshaft,one of said spacers being located between the armature and vits lield,and a spacing member arranged at the opposite end of t-he field and`secured to s aid plates, all of said motor partsbeing contained withinthe casing and the last namedv vspacing member being secured to one endthereof, the opposite end of the casing having an` axial aperture, a hubjournaled in said aperture and operatively connected to the armatureshaft, the motor elements' being supported within the casing at theopposite ends thereof by said 'hub and said opening member respective-lreduction gearing interposed between sai huband` saidshaft, and meansassociated therewith for automatically stoppingv the voperation -of themotor when the hub has turned a' predetermined number. of revolutions.

7. An electricvmoto'r comprising a c'ylin-4 -drical casing having acentrally apertured closed end, a motor assembly within the casing,comprisin an armature having a rotatf.

axially from the armature adjacent the opposite end ofwthe casing andhaving a radial core,( a pair of curved conducting .plates mounted onthe opposite -ends of said'core and extending longitudinally toward theclosed end of the Vcasing in spaced relation to the armature, andradially disposed spacing members connecting said plates, one of saidmembers being aiixed .to said 'shaft bearing, and another having'acentral' aperture providing a bearing for the opposite end of saidshaft, the motor assembly being in sertible as a unitwithin the oppositeopen end of the casing, Vanda cover for said end, said cover beingconnected to-the assembly so that the assembly is supported within thecasing by the coverr at one end thereof and by the journaled hub at itsopposite end.

. I 8. An electric motor comprising a cylin-l drical 'casing having acentrally apertured closed end, a motor assembly Within the casing,comprising an armature havinga rotatable shaft, a bearing' for one endof said shaft, a gear on said shaft end, a cupped disc rotatable aroundsaid bearing, an internally' d geared ring fast to the4 peripheral edgeof y said disc,an end plate secured to the opposite side of said ringand having a hub journaled in the aperture of the caslng end, gearingoperatively connecting the shaft gear with the ring gear, a magneticifield spaced axially from thev armature adjacent the opposite end of thecasing and having a radial core, a pair of curved conducting platesmounted inthe opposite ends' of said core and extending ,g

longitudinally toward the closed end of the casing in spaced relation to.the armature, and radially disposed spacing members connecting saidplates, one of said members aiiixed `to said shaft bearing, anotherbeing disposed between the armature and its eld and having a centralaperture providing a bearing for the-opposite end of saidv shaft, and athird being disposed at the outer, open end of the casing, a cover forsaid open end, and a tubular fastening member connecting this eighth dayof May,

the last named spacing member to said cover and furnishing anentrance'for an electric cable, the motor assembly and cover-beininsertible 'as a unit within the easing an being supported .thereinbythe cover 'at one d end and by the journaled hub at the opposite endofthe casing.

Signed by. me at Boston, Massachusetts,

1929. y y BUTLER AME

